“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” That adage is not actually the official motto of the US Postal Service. It was sort of adopted as an unofficial credo following its inscription into the wall of the James Farley Post Office. And today, the key thing to know about the the James Farley Post Office is that it’s in New York. It’s not in Chicago, East Detroit, the Dakotas, or any of the other parts of ten states where it’s just too damn cold to deliver the mail. It’s not just the mail. Many businesses and schools are closed as parts of the Midwest are colder than Antarctica. For the first time in years, Americans can utter the phrase, Baby, It’s Cold Outside without stirring any controversy.

+ Here are some photos from Vox, HuffPo, and NBC.

+ CityLab: Thanks to extreme cold hitting the Midwest, Chicago is lighting the Metra commuter train rails on fire to keep the steel from contracting.

+ As several readers from Australia informed me, it’s hot as hell down there. So folks in the Midwest, take off your boots and gloves and gather around these photos of a January heat wave in Australia.

+ “In Chicago, officials warned about the risk of almost instant frostbite on what could be the city’s coldest day ever … on the other side of the planet, wildfires raged in Australia’s record-breaking heat.” NYT: This Is the Age of Weather Extremes.